Program Director, Occupational Therapy Program

About the role

Beloit College invites applications for a founding Program Director for its new Master of Occupational Therapy (OTM) program. This role will involve building a program from the ground up at a nationally recognized liberal arts institution committed to intellectual curiosity, interdisciplinary thinking, and education that connects knowledge to real-world impact.

Responsibilities

• Lead all phases of OTM program creation and development, including curriculum design, policy development, and operational infrastructure.
• Recruit, hire, mentor, and evaluate core and associated faculty and staff.
• Oversee student recruitment, admissions, advising, and retention.
• Manage program budget and resources in collaboration with institutional leadership.
• Lead ACOTE candidacy and accreditation processes, including self-study, site visit preparation, and ongoing compliance.
• Develop and sustain clinical education partnerships to support fieldwork and experiential learning.
• Implement program evaluation and continuous quality improvement processes.
• Teach in areas of expertise as core faculty in the OT program.
• Support student advising and well-being.
• Represent the program at state, regional, and national professional meetings.

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities

• Launch a new OTM program, the first of its kind at Beloit College.
• Serve as the designated Program Director in compliance with ACOTE Standard A.2.1.
• Provide leadership in planning, implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure compliance with ACOTE accreditation standards.
• Manage program budgeting and resources.
• Recruit, hire, mentor, and evaluate faculty.
• Oversee curriculum design and assessment, including DEIJ principles.
• Teach courses in the OT program relevant to expertise.
• Support student advising and well-being.
• Represent the program internally and externally.

Credentials and Experience

• Doctoral degree from a USDE-recognized accredited institution.
• Licensed occupational therapist.
• Minimum 8 years of OT experience including clinical, administrative, and scholarly work.
• Minimum 4 years of postbaccalaureate-level teaching experience.
• Evidence of leadership, vision, and the ability to build programs and teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading or contributing significantly to ACOTE accreditation processes.
• Experience launching or substantially developing a new academic program.
• Demonstrated commitment to interprofessional education and community-engaged practice.
• Interest in integrating liberal arts values (interdisciplinary thinking, ethical reasoning, global awareness) into OT education.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to understand and appreciate the mission of a residential, liberal arts college and to work well in a fast-paced office, with diverse faculty, staff, students, alums, general public in a variety of situations.
• Ability to develop and contribute to learning and work environments welcoming to people from a diverse variety of backgrounds and experiences.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including grammar, punctuation, spelling, and proofreading.
• Flexibility and willingness to adapt to changing activities, expectations, and responsibilities.
• Excellent problem solving skills, with the ability to think critically, effectively prioritize, plan, and organize multiple tasks and projects and meet set deadlines without immediate and constant supervision.
• Knowledge of customer service standards and the ability to communicate effectively with faculty, administrators, staff, students, families of students, prospective students and their families, and the general public.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and to safeguard the confidentiality of records.
• Willingness to look for improvements in personal and office performance and initiate proposals which enhance the work of the office.